Raditz
Raditz is the biological brother of Son Goku and the eldest son of Gine and Bardock. He was one of the few known remaining Saiyans left alive after his home world was destroyed. He seeks out Goku in order to recruit him to conquer more planets. Raditz is the main antagonist of the Raditz Saga. Biography Background Raditz was born to Bardock and Gine sometime before Age 736. During the time of Vegeta's (planet) destruction, as a child at the time, Raditz was away on a mission with Prince Vegeta and was spared the fate of many of his race, including his mother and father, thanks to Vegeta deciding that they will ignore the order to return to Planet Vegeta. Raditz Saga On October 12th, Age 761, Raditz arrives on Earth in a space pod, in search of a man named "Kakarot," later revealed to be Son Goku. After he incapacitates a farmer who found his space pod, Raditz detects a power reading on his scouterand assumes it is Goku. He tracks down the source of the energy and comes face to face with Piccolo, Goku's mortal enemy at the time. Raditz asks Piccolo where he can find "Kakarot", but Piccolo refuses to tell him, warning him to leave Earth at once. Raditz laughs at Piccolo, who fires an Explosive Demon Wave at Raditz, leaving him unscathed, which shocks Piccolo. Just as Raditz prepares to destroy Piccolo, he detects another power level, and this time he knows that it is Kakarot, the one he is looking for. Raditz tracks the power level down to the Kame House, where Goku was introducing his son Gohan to Bulma Brief, Krillin, Master Roshi, and Turtle, while also enjoying a reunion. Raditz identifies Goku as Kakarot, and informs Goku that he is his big brother, who arrived on Earth to find him. When Goku asks where Raditz came from, Raditz tells Goku that they are both Saiyan warriors, and tells him the history of the Saiyan race and their entrepreneural ways of conquering planets and selling them for profit. Goku and Krillin express their disgust at Raditz and tell him to leave. Krillin proposes to escort him off the island, which results in him being smacked in the face by Raditz's tail, thus revealing his tail, one just like Goku used to have and which Gohan has. When it becomes clear to Raditz that Goku is not coming with him, Raditz sends Goku plummeting to the ground with a powerful knee strike to the stomach and kidnaps Gohan (who still has a Saiyan tail), holding him for ransom. He informs Goku that if he ever wants to see Gohan again, he should eliminate one hundred people from Earth and bring them all to him by the next day. Laughing, Raditz flies off with Gohan in his hands. Later, he shuts the crying Gohan in his space pod, unable to stand his crying. Raditz is surprised to find that his scouter reported a power level of 710 for Gohan, which Raditz dismissed as a malfunction because it would mean that the child was even stronger than his father. Shortly afterwards, Raditz sees Goku and Piccolo who have joined forces to beat him, and since his scouter accurately warned him of their approach, he came to the realization that Gohan may actually be as strong as his reading said. Seeing that Goku has not only refused to join him, but also brought Piccolo as a reinforcement, Raditz declares his younger brother a shame to their race and sentences him to death. A battle commences, and Raditz soon proves he is far stronger than both Goku and Piccolo combined and easily overwhelms them. Raditz even manages to blast off Piccolo's left arm. The tables turn when Piccolo reveals he created a special attack that may be able to kill Raditz, the Special Beam Cannon. However, the attack needs several minutes to charge up, meaning Goku has to fight Raditz alone for five minutes. As Piccolo prepares the attack, Goku and Raditz battle it out, yet Raditz easily takes the lead. Goku, however, leaps into the air and launches a Kamehameha Wave. Raditz is startled that he is able to increase his power into one spot, and is even more shocked to find Piccolo's rising as well. Before he can think, Goku launches his attack. Raditz tries to run from it, but cannot. He is, however, able to nullify it with his hands. Raditz then launches a more powerful attack back at Goku, badly wounding him and knocking him out of the sky. He tries to make the kill, but soon sees Piccolo's attack ready. To his dismay, the attack is too powerful for him to block, and he is shocked that Piccolo could summon that much power. Piccolo launches the attack, but Raditz is fast enough to dodge it, yet it does pierce through one of his shoulder pads, also injuring his shoulder. He almost kills Piccolo, but is stopped by Goku, who grabs Raditz's tail, causing immense pain. As Piccolo prepares the attack, Raditz begs for mercy from Goku with brotherly words ("I would never harm my own flesh and blood!"). Piccolo tries to warn Goku it is a trick, but the Saiyan's mercy gets the better of him. Goku lets go of Raditz's tail, and Raditz takes advantage by throwing his brother to the ground, stomping on his chest multiple times, crushing his ribs. Goku calls the trick dirty and Raditz in turn says that he is a first-class warrior, and never hesitates to kill anyone, even his own brother. He also edges Piccolo for his attack, but Piccolo says it is useless. While Goku cries out in pain with Piccolo helplessly watching, a power suddenly erupts and Raditz's spacepod explodes. Just as Raditz prepares to kill Goku, an enraged Gohan emerges and flies straight into Raditz's chest, seriously injuring him. Incensed and in awe of the small child, Raditz whacks Gohan across the field and limps over to him, preparing to kill him in fear of his power, which he complimented as he approaches. Before this can happen, however, Goku grabs Raditz from behind in a full nelson, giving Piccolo enough time to power up another Special Beam Cannon. Raditz, fully aware that the beam will be enough to kill the both of them, implores Goku not to sacrifice himself for "these Earth dogs" and let him go, but Goku refuses. Piccolo fires the Special Beam Cannon and hits both Raditz and Goku square in the chest, mortally wounding them both. As he lays dying, spitting blood and suffering on the ground, Raditz genuinely acknowledges Goku's death (as well as his own), but Piccolo tells him about the Dragon Balls, that will revive Goku shortly after the wish is made. Raditz, however, retorts that his scouter is also a transmitter, and his two Saiyan comrades have heard everything and will come for the Dragon Balls to wish him back. Laughing his head off, Raditz is finished off by Piccolo, and dies shortly before Goku does so. Using his scouter to transmit Piccolo's message, Raditz calls for help from his two fellow Saiyans, Nappa and Vegeta, who eventually journey to Earth to gather the Dragon Balls, not to revive Raditz (as Raditz believed), but for immortality. In the Other World, Raditz attempts to fight King Yemma, who overpowers him and sends Raditz to Hell. After Goku dies, Bulma and Krillin remove Raditz's scouter from his corpse. Bulma modifies the scouter so it can display numbers rather than the alien symbols that are used by Frieza's forces. The scouter later explodes when Goku powers up during his fight with Vegeta. Super Android No. 17 Saga Raditz escapes from Hell thanks to Doctor Gero and Doctor Myuu opening a portal in the sky allowing all the past villains to escape from Hell. However, he was defeated once more by the Zeta Fighters and sent back to Hell along with all the other past villains. Forms Ozaru While Raditz has never transformed into an Ozaru in the manga or anime, he has a tail and, by extension, the ability to turn into one, which is shown in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, and Super Dragon Ball Heroes. While transformed, Raditz has no mental control like a common low-class Saiyan soldier. Super Saiyan 3 Raditz attains the Super Saiyan 3 transformation in Super Dragon Ball Heroes, introduced in the first mission of the original series. Fusions Natz The fusion of Nappa and Raditz created via the Metamoran Fusion Dance that first appears in Dragon Ball Fusions and manga based on the game. Trivia * As with all other Saiyans in the series, Raditz's name is a pun on a vegetable, "radish" in this case. Raditz's family are all named after root vegetables.